Trapped in Shadows
by steffxnie
Summary: No matter how dark it gets, or how long I'm trapped in the darkness... I will be guided by this light - I'll be all right as long as you're here." The X-Men welcomes her, who lost her memory. But they found she brought something with her... A dark past.
1. Darkness

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This fanfiction is kind of between X-Men and X-Men Evolution. It's based on some of the characters' backgrounds so maybe it looks a bit familiar.

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own X-Men. **

_**But it is awesome!! **_

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**_This is my first. I know it's sorta short and crappy. So read & review, and I'll try to improve. Ty. ;) _**

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She was surrounded by darkness.

That was the first thing she noticed.

She sat up, and had to put her arms on the ground for support. When her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she realized she was lying in the middle of an unfamiliar street, with only one lighted street post. She tried to stand up, but her back and legs were sore.

It took her a few tries before she could stand up properly, but she had to lean against a wall. She took several deep breaths, and walked weakly and uncertainly down the street.

A black crow watched her as she stumbled, catching a flickering light post nearby with a shaking hand to stop her fall.

And then it took off into the dark night.

* * *

"Multiple! Quit fooling around!" barked Scott Summers.

"Sorry," the baby-faced boy mumbled. He held up his hands, fists clenching

"_Now_ I have collected every single one of your attention," he continued, shooting a meaningful look at the young boy as he spoke, ignoring all the twenty-five others surrounding him, grinning. The boy grimaced, and he pulled all of himselves together, all twenty-five into one.

"As I was saying, judging from your trainings lately, starting tomorrow, the training will increase to thirty more minutes." Everyone groaned.

"Besides, there really is a need for more training, as far as I can tell from today…" he trailed off, shaking his head.

"Cyclops, we already have lots to do!"

"Oh please, Scott!"

"But-"

"Well, I'll meet every all of you tomorrow right after school here then." And with that, he walked out, leaving whisperings behind.

A girl hurried after him, her long red hair flying.

"Scott?" she called behind him, just when he was about to walk into his room.

"Hey Jean." He turned, smiling.

"Are you okay?" she peered at him, looking deep into his red shades, although she knew that she would never meet his gaze, never mind his eyes. "I know you have a reason, but you don't need to be that hard on _them_." she explained gently, "They are just kids, and probably are very tired already after lessons, and they are even more exhausted after these special trainings…"

"I get your point." He interrupted. "Well, they should get used to it. Um, I'll go change now. See you at dinner." He flashed her a quick smile and closed the door.

"All right…" she murmured. She bit her lip.

_I hope he's okay._ She thought.

* * *

"Well?"

"Everything is according to the plan," she replied simply.

They were in a dark alley, and she had returned to herself.

"_They_ will find her and pick her up soon enough. But she will still be neglected and confused. She has no idea, but I promise you she _will_ follow my instructions. I know her well." she added, "You have to trust me."

"Good. But you _did_ realize that there will be sufferings if this does not work, have you not?" As he spoke, a street post far behind him bended with a loud crack.

"It will work." She sounded confident, but her voice quivered at the end.

He made no attempt to answer, but only lifted himself high up into the air.

She watched as he disappeared into the darkness, and narrowed her gleaming golden-yellow eyes.

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	2. Found and Lost

**_This fanfiction is kind of between X-Men and X-Men Evolution. It's based on some of the characters' backgrounds so maybe it looks a bit familiar. _**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own X-Men. **

**_But it is awesome!! _**

* * *

"Be careful. Don't touch her skin."

The voices echoed in her head. They kept repeating, repeating, and repeating. Would they ever stop? She was extremely tired of it… but where could she go?

The shadows swirled - a light had entered the darkness.

A hand touched her hair gently. "Can you hear me?" the soft voice was very soothing and friendly.

She stirred and opened her eyes.

A good-looking brown-haired guy with red shades was kneeling down next to her.

"Yes." she answered weakly.

"Are you hurt?" he asked. She was surprised and delighted to hear concern in the voice. She did not care if she was hurt at all, as long as the caring voice was the light source in the blackness.

"No idea." Darkness was closing in again. She started to close her heavy eyelids shut.

She felt soft hands lifting her up carefully. There was the sound of some sort of machinery. And all fell into the pool of silence and shadows again.

* * *

"_Rogue, don't get too familiar with them. We are not allies." _

"_Fine! But why must I go in there?"_

"Let's just say they took something from me, and you're just doing me a favor going in there to take something else."

"_A favor, huh?" she made a face. "Well, the thing I want – what I was promised – will happen, right?"_

"_Oh, of course it will, dear. Slightly just before you start." She smiled, her blue skin reflecting the light of the moon. "But before so … Mastermind will erase some memories and rewrite a few." _

_Rogue frowned at her. "Whatever for?"_

"_Telepathy." Clear disgust was in her voice. "You can't trust those psychos." _

_Rogue bit her lip. _

_It wasn't _those_ she couldn't trust._

* * *

She rolled over, and woke up because the pain was piercing.

The room was spotlessly white, and was clearly an advanced place as good technologies were all around the room. Glasses, machines, trays, shelves… There was the sound of beeping from a machine nearby and a tray of medication supplies right next to her bed. There was another empty bed next to hers. She could not remember what happened, or why she was there at all.

She examined her hands, and flipped them over.

Something felt incomplete.

"Ah, you woke up." A husky voice came behind her.

She sat up quickly so she could turn and see who was speaking. It was a man, (she had no idea how old he was, but clearly at least twice her age) with strong, firm shoulders and muscles. He had a serious, wearied face. He was brushing off bandages on his arms and hands and all the wounds (if she could tell there was any) were already healed.

"What is this place?" she wondered out loud.

"_The Xavier Institute_ – a school for gifted people. It's also a home for those who weren't welcomed in places where they came from."

"What – why am I here?"

"Well, we found you alone unconscious at five in the morning in the middle of a deserted street so we bought you here. Seems like you'll going to be here for a while. By the way, you weren't injured but why are you in pain?"

She had not noticed she was biting her lip and half holding her breath. She grimaced. "Dunno, can't remember a single thing and my head hurts."

"Hell, the same thing happened to me." he said gravely, waking away from her bed.

"Don't worry. Someone here will take care of you." He said as he saw her holding up a hand at the corner of his eye. He pressed something that was not visible to where she was and a small portion of the wall slide up. He paused for a second, gave a silent sigh, and walked out.

And the high tech-ed door sided down again.

* * *

_You're welcomed here._

His voice echoed in her ears.

_You can stay as long as you like._ And the warm and guiding voice stopped.

It was a long time ago since she heard someone being so kind to her.

_If you wish, we can offer you a place to study in my institute. You'll live here just like the others._ It had said. _You can stay in one of the free rooms for now._

She had no idea where the unfamiliar voice came from. No one was seen anywhere. She was alone, wandering around.

The 'door' had sided up easily when she pressed a button on the wall like the man did before, and she walked out, her heart beating fast.

Corridors, and more corridors. Rooms, and more rooms. The stairs seemed to go on forever. She looked out of the huge transparent windows in the middle of the corridor; there were gardens and courts, tracks, and a large area of grass outside, all widely spread out. The whole area was enormous! She was extremely curious. What exactly was this place?

"Hey."

It was so quiet and peaceful that she jumped slightly. She turned to the speaker. It was a boy, around 15 or so, smiling. He had black hair and brown eyes.

"Hi. Do you live here?" she asked.

"Yeah. The professor was very kind; he took me in when I had nowhere to go..." He spoke with an unfamiliar accent, but his tone was friendly. "I haven't seen you before. Are you staying here?"

"Yea, I guess. What is this place for?"

"The X Institute? Wait, you have an X, right? You must have since you're here. Because if you don't, then…" He shrugged and suddenly lifted his hand up to peep at his watch.

"What X?'

"Well, if you don't have one… I can't explain to you. But I'll put it this way; are you gifted?"

"Huh. I wouldn't call myself gifted… I would go for cursed."

He frowned, "What do you mean – AW! No battery again! Darn it!" something had beeped and he was hitting his watch angrily. He looked up at her fearfully. "Um. Gotta go. See you around." He said very quickly. He ran and turned at a corner and was out of her sight in the next second.

"Wait!" she called and hurried after him and stopped in mid-run. The corridor was empty. "Where did he go?" she muttered.

She thought she saw something blue flashing for a moment before he turned.

* * *

"Excuse me. I kinda got lost. Can you tell me how to go back to the institute, please?"

She had a long walk outdoors, looking around. However, she did not realize she had gone too far and forgot the way back. It was half an hour since she decided to turn back, but she was still wandering in circles.

"Sure. Just turn left when you reached the end of that court, follow the tracks and you'll be there in 5 minutes."

"Oh, thank you." She smiled gratefully at him.

"You're new, right? You shouldn't be wandering alone if you're a normal person. You could run into _that lot_ and just freak out."

"What do you mean?"

"The others – the trouble makers. They are always using their X and create a scene." He grinned. "My name's Bobby, by the way. Or you can call me _Iceman._" The ground turned into a rink as he said proudly.

She did not notice a thing. She took a step forward and tipped instead. Bobby grabbed for her arm to stop her fall. However, they had no idea what was going to happen.

The moment he touched her bare arm, they were shocked by cold electricity. A pain in her head nearly knocked her out. But it only lasted for a few seconds. When she recovered, she was shocked to see Bobby on the ground. She started to knell down, but almost at once a voice shouted, "Don't touch him!"

She looked around her for help with wide-opened eyes. A blond boy with highlighted short fringe was standing right behind her, his eyes darting between her and the unconscious Bobby. The way he was staring at her clearly explained he saw everything.

"What the hell did you do to him?" he demanded angrily. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

He walked past her, and lifted him up. He turned and glared at her. "Stay away." He hissed. Blue electric bolts appeared in the air. They weakened as he ran towards the building, carrying him.

She dropped onto the grass, her eyes watering. "What did I do?" she whispered.

A rose at her feet turned into ice.

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**_Please read and review. TY!! :)_**

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	3. Unwelcomed

**_This fanfiction is kind of between X-Men and X-Men Evolution. It's based on some of the characters' backgrounds so maybe it looks a bit familiar. _**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own X-Men. **

**_But it is awesome!! _**

* * *

"Maybe she can suck out your life."

"Or your strength dry."

"That's scary!"

"I wonder what's her purpose here."

"Evil."

"How could she not even know what she can do?"

"Who is she?"

"No one knows."

"What did Iceman do to her to deserve this?"

She tried to block the voices out of her head. But they just would not shut up. They kept echoing, echoing. Wherever she went, they followed her; whatever she thought, they kept bothering her.

She was lost in the shadows.

Again.

"The professor would like to see you." A girl appeared at the door of her room.

Great. She had only stayed her for a few hours after they found her alone, hurt and afraid; brought and let her stay in such a wonderful institute. They had even offered a place to study and live there if she had nowhere to go. They did not even know her! She could not be any more grateful. But she ended up injuring a nice guy she met, and now the professor wanted to see her. Just great.

"It's two floors above this one." The girl added and left quickly, before she could rise from her bed, as if she was afraid she would be killed if she stayed any minute longer.

She sighed.

She pulled the covers over her head. Hiding away from the rest of the world, (even if it was only for a couple of minutes)… Just like she did when she was trapped in the shadows.

Then she opened her heart and sobbed.

* * *

It said _Professor X _on the door.

_This must be him_, she thought. She raised her hand to knock -

_Come in._

She bit her lower lip and lowered her hand. She shouldn't be surprised. This is the professor of the institute after all. She stepped in and closed the door behind her. The professor was sitting on a wheelchair behind a long desk. He smiled and gestured her forward to a chair in front of him.

"Good afternoon. How are you?"

She grimaced slightly as she sat down. "Not that good." The voices were still whispering in her head. She could not forget the images of unfriendly glances and the looks they gave her. "I swear I didn't – I didn't mean it" She was talking very fast. "I am really sorry. I'll get out of here if you want me to – "

"No one's telling you to leave." He said gently, still smiling kindly "I wanted to see you because I wanted to help you."

"Help me… Why?"

"Because you're quite lost, anyone could tell that... May I have your permission to get inside your mind?" he asked politely.

"Pardon?" She was taken by surprise – it was something she did not expect.

But he already wheeled himself next to her. "Just relax and try to concentrate." He put his hands in mid-air, on both sides of her head. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Images shot through her mind:

_They were at a beach. They were in the warm sea. She put her hands around his neck and they kissed. He froze. She realized something was wrong and drew away. His skin was cold - not at all warm anymore. Then he started to make choking sounds. She screamed. His eyes were wide and looking lifeless._

_It was snowing. She was looking into a window from the outside. They had finally left the room and he was alone on the bed. His eyes were still wide and looking lifeless. She put on her gloves and wrapped her scarf tighter around her neck._

_And she ran_.

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**Please read and review!! :)**

**I really appreciate it!**

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	4. Friend

**_This fanfiction is kind of between X-Men and X-Men Evolution. It's based on some of the characters' backgrounds so maybe it looks a bit familiar. _**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own X-Men. **

**_But it is awesome!! _**

* * *

Her eyes flew open. Breathing quickly, she jerked away from the professor.

"Hey! You - "

"Calm down." said the professor gently. "No one is blaming you. This is your X – your power, isn't it? It does not matter if your memory is blurry and you cannot remember much… I can help you find out more."

"More?" she stood up, a bit dazed. "I'm not sure if I'm ready for that yet..."

"That's fine. But you can find me anytime you want if you need anything…" he took a bag with an X logo from the desk and held it out to her. "This is yours. Your X training uniforms and equipments are in it. "

She stared at him blankly.

"Don't worry. We already see you as a student."

"But I – "

"We teach our students how to use their powers properly and correctly. This is what this school is for. We train them frequently to improve and extend their powers. Here, it's all yours." She took the bag from him absent-mindedly. "Someone will guide you around. This is a big place." He winked.

"Well, I hope you'll enjoy staying here." He smiled with his eyes. "Nice to meet you..."

"_Rogue._ Call me _Rogue_."

* * *

"And after lessons, we have training sessions for one and a half hour. We change here –don't forget the way to this changing room- and I'll take you there. After training, you'll be free to do whatever you want until dinner." she finished. "Got everything?"

"Yeah…"

"Good." the tall brunette smiled.

Her name was Jean. She was explaining to Rogue how everything worked in the institute. She was just a few years older than her. Apparently, she stayed in the institute long enough to be in an instructor position. She was very pretty, with highlighted red wavy brunette hair. Her brown eyes were wise and deep and there was a darker brown deep shade in them.

"Well, lessons should be over by now, so the others will be here soon…"

"Jean! Multiple and the others sneaked into the garage!" The sudden voice made Rogue jumped slightly. A girl had appeared right next to her, although she had not seen her come in through the door. She was probably a few years younger, as she was shorter than both of them. She had her light-brown hair tied up in a ponytail, leaving her fringe out.

"Aw, again?" Jean turned to Rogue. "Kitty here will take you there. See you later." And she sprinted out of the room.

Rogue stared at the wall behind Kitty, then Kitty, then the wall again. "Where did you come from?" she asked, confused.

She just grinned at her. "We better hurry up and change or we'll be late." Rogue nodded absent-mindedly.

Kitty was very cute-looking. She had a warm-hearted smile and huge, benignant eyes. Rogue could tell she was very friendly towards her, which was very different compared to how the others treated her, even though she had stayed for less than two days.

"Cyclops is in a bad mood these days for some reason. He's usually very nice and …"

Rogue was not paying attention. She had opened the bag that the professor gave her and was staring at the contents.

There were the X uniform for training, a key for her new room, a few books including an X Guide & Rules and a map of the X Institute, and a long sleeved swimsuit

But it was not the swimsuit that she was staring at, although she rarely swam, not to mention she had worn one for ages.

It was the pair of black gloves tucked at the side, rarely visible.

They looked familiar.

Very familiar.

* * *

She could hardly recognize the girl in front of her. She had reddish-brown hair, dark brown eyes. Her cheeks were pink with excitement and her skin was clean, not a sign of dirt anywhere. She was wearing a long-sleeved black (partly purple) suit with an X on the center of the belt. She looked very smart, flexible and energetic.

"Let's go." Kitty appeared at her side.

"One second." Rogue turned away from the mirror, went through the bag quickly and drew out the pair of gloves. She put them on smoothly in no time. It fitted her perfectly, and looked like it was made for her hands. She examined them expressionlessly.

"Okay. Done." She looked up and saw Kitty smiling.

"Let me show you what I can do." she said brightly, and grabbed Rogue's hand. They ran out of the changing room, Kitty pulling and tugging Rogue, urging her to be faster. They were moving so swiftly down the corridor that the doors were all blurred. There was a big iron door with a huge 'X' in front. Rogue expected they would slow down soon, and was quite surprised when Kitty sped up. She turned hurriedly to her, wanting a specific explanation. But Kitty only beamed delightfully back. The iron door was drawing nearer and nearer… Rogue closed her eyes and waited for the pain that was coming.

It didn't.

Merely swishing sounds echoing in her ears. Kitty let go of Rogue's hand. And she opened her eyes timidly. The corridor was gone; instead they were standing in a white room made of metal that was as big as a stadium.

"What is this place?" she wondered out loud, forgetting to ask Kitty what happened earlier.

"The Danger Room."

So this was where they had trainings. Rogue looked around curiously. She was alarmed when weapons (that look like fire-guns) and other machines shot out of the walls. She tilted her head at Kitty questionly, her heart thumping so loudly in the still, empty room that she was almost sure that Kitty could hear it.

Kitty just gave her a warm smile.

However dangerous the training could be, whatever she was going to go through, wherever the path she was choosing… It mattered no more. Rogue was confident – she would not be going through them alone.

Rogue smiled back; there was no need to speak. This easy-going friendship was as natural as breathing. Kitty did not seem to mind who she was, or where she came from, or what she did…

A real friend, at last.

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**Please read and review!! :) **

**I really want to know what you think! **

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	5. Fuzzy Blue Elf

**_This fanfiction is kind of between X-Men and X-Men Evolution. It's based on some of the characters' backgrounds so maybe it looks a bit familiar. _**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own X-Men. **

**_But I want to. :P_**

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_Chapter 6... I wrote this ages ago actually. I didn't dare to upload due to its crappyness. Anyway, it's better than nothing, so it's here now. _

_I have a feeling that I'm dragging the story. I'm sorry. I promise I'll bring the real plot out soon. Bear with me!!_

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"Hey, Shadowcat!" a cheerful voice called behind her. Kitty and Rogue both turned.

It was the same boy who kept hitting his watch and ran off in the middle of the conversation with Rogue earlier. He stopped talking when he saw who Kitty was standing next to, his mouth still hanging open. He stared at Rogue longer than necessary. And Rogue stared back at him. She noticed he had changed; he was now wearing a black suit with blue-coloured fabric on his chest instead of a casual T-shirt and jeans. But that was not the reason she had her mouth hanging wide open, exactly reflecting his horror.

His skin was blue.

He looked behind him, as if he did not know whom Rogue was staring at, and turned back to her, biting his lower lip worriedly. Rogue blinked. His skin was normal - pinkish, even healthier than hers - for hers was pale. After a long frozen, awkward minute, the boy recollected himself, ran through his black hair and checked his watch.

Kitty interrupted the silence. "Rogue, this is Kurt."

"Ah. Nice to see you again, Rogue…" He mumbled, licking his dry lips, and then added anxiously. "Sorry about earlier…"

She hardly noticed Kitty tiptoed to speak quietly at his ear, and his mumbling reply, because she was wondering: what was he sorry about? When he said 'earlier', did he mean leaving her trying to find her way around alone, or just now … but that was just her imagination, right?

"You must. She'll find out sooner or later anyway." Kitty pushed Kurt forward.

"Um. Rogue? I have to tell you the truth about me…" Kurt looked uncomfortable and uneasy. Rogue looked at him curiously. "I don't always look like this. I- The professor gave me this technical equipment so I can hide my real appearance." He pointed at his watch.

"What do you mean?"

He took a deep breath, and pressed something on his watch. Rogue froze.

He skin was blue. His eyes were deep orange, not brown anymore. Rogue noticed his hair was dark blue, and always must had been. She had thought it was black because it was very dark when he looked normal. He had pointed ears, three fingers and a swishing tail. But it had drooped like a dog's like it was sad when he saw her still reaction. He shrank back a little bit, and stood there, looking small and down.

Rogue moved forward and stroked his bare arm gingerly. Even though she was wearing gloves, she could tell the texture was furry. "You're beautiful." Rogue muttered softly in his ear.

He looked up disbelievingly. "What?"

"I'm not just saying that. Everything is the way it is for a reason." She told him.

"So you're not going to freak out?"

"Why would I? You're so cute. Besides, I know people in this school will be unusual." A colour of pink crept across her pale cheeks. Kurt looked overjoyed; his face was all lit up.

"They are." chipped in Kitty. "I can phase through walls, no matter how solid they are. My X cancels the space between atoms. So I don't turn transparent or whatever when I phase. Blueboy here freaked out more than I did when we first met. He thought I'm a ghost!" she teased him, chuckling.

Kurt was still beaming at Rogue. "And you don't even what my X is!" He cartwheeled to the wall, climbed up like a monkey and was about to reach the high ceiling in the next second. Rogue marveled at his swiftness and skill. He stayed there at the top, winked at the girls and disappeared. If Rogue had blinked exactly at that moment, she would have missed the whole thing. The only clue that proved it happened was the small puff of blue smoke he left behind which was barely visible.

Kurt appeared right in front of Rogue's face half a second later with a 'BAMF'. Rogue fell onto the hard floor. "Teleportation." He grinned at her as she scrambled back up. "Show-off." Kitty groaned, with a hint of irritation.

"He's our team's acrobat. He's a spider-monkey!" Kitty chuckled.

Kurt's slapped her butt with his tail. "Shuttup!" then he thought for a moment and grinned sheepishly. "Uhh actually, that's true."

He turned to Rogue. "They call me the _Nightcrawler_." He said. "More like a FIBE - Fuzzy Irritating Blue Elf." Kitty muttered under her breath. Kurt hissed like a snake at them. Rogue raised eyebrows at Kitty. She rolled her eyes at his direction, saying:_ yeah, he does that all the time. Get use to it. _

The iron door opened sideways behind them, and from the sound of footsteps, she could easily tell a group of X-Men had walked in. Rogue took a deep breath and turned around. There was the muscled man she met earlier, a fit boy wearing a visor, the tall brunette Jean, followed by a bunch of teenagers. They were all shooting her unfamiliar glares, except for the seniors.

Rogue swallowed.

Kitty tapped her shoulder lightly. "You ready?" she asked. Kurt had already joined in the group in a flash. She felt everyone's eyes on her as she stood uncomfortably, waiting.

She was not sure. But of all the things she had been through, she must have went through worse than a bunch of unfriendly teenagers, right? She did not need her full memory back to know that.

"Yeah." She assured her. "Yeah, I am."

And the challenges started.

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_I'm adding a few more X teenagers, but I'm keeping a few. So if anyone wants to keep any particular characters please say so now. ;)_

_Please review. Ideas and comments are appreciated. _

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